The Charge

"It never ends for Raymond. Everybody loves Raymond!"—older
brother Robert (Brad Garrett), grousing about Raymond's success as a sports
writer

Opening Statement

Every once in a while, a sweet, funny sitcom comes along that demands nothing
from the audience other than that they have a good time. Enjoying Everybody
Loves Raymond does not require you to have a weird sense of humor, a
knowledge of Long Island (where the show is set), or even an empathy for or
understanding of parenthood, even though the title character has three children.
The humor works because it is simple, everyday humor that anyone who craves the
company of other humans (whether that includes a family unit or not) can relate
to.

Facts of the Case

Ray Barone (played by standup comedian Ray Romano) is a lucky, lucky man. He
has a beautiful wife, three lovely children, an exciting job as a sports writer,
and a house in Long Island, NY. He lives across the street from his parents
(that's right) and his brother Robert (Brad Garrett), who moved into
their basement after divorcing his wife.

The family drops by often; so much so, in fact, that knocking on the door is
a formality they no longer observe. Raymond's mother (Doris Roberts) is quite
the cook, and is often bringing over dishes of food for them to eat (especially
if she smells something "questionable" in the fridge) or insisting
that Raymond eat dinner at her house even if he's expected by his wife, Debra.
His father (Peter Boyle) is a bit of an eccentric, who likes to unbuckle his
pants when he sits down to watch the television, doesn't think twice about
waking up the kids if he wants to say hello, and likes to crack the code on
Ray's answering machine so he can listen to their messages. Older brother Robert
doesn't think much of Ray's successes in life…he doesn't understand why
Ray gets all the breaks when he has to deal with getting shot at when he goes to
work (Robert is a policeman).

Ray's wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) is his patient and faithful companion,
weathering the constant intrusions from his family, looking after their three
young kids, and keeping the house running smoothly, making sure that Raymond is
well taken care of. She is whip smart and has a low tolerance for tomfoolery,
something Ray hasn't quite figured out how to deal with—he often ends up
hanging himself as he backpedals out of the latest thorny situation.

But, in true TV Land fashion, nothing is left unresolved by the end of the
episode, and what matters is family and the bonds you make with them. All others
can take a hike.

The Evidence

One might go into Everybody Loves Raymond expecting a Full
House type of experience. After all, with three adorable little kids, it's
almost guaranteed that there will be lots of little-kid humor and the camera
will be focusing on them making cute expressions, doing cute things, and so on.
But, as Raymond says in the opening credits, "It's not really about the
kids." The kids in this series give meaning to the lives of the parents,
who are often in chaotic and precarious situations. If anything, the kids
ground the parents, and that is a refreshing take on family that is probably one
of the most endearing things about this show. When daughter Ally (Madylin
Sweeten) does come on screen, it's genuinely cute, not "look how cute I
am!" cute.

This is a clue as to why Everybody Loves Raymond has lasted eight
seasons. Within the sitcom format, which really doesn't allow much wiggle room,
the creators and producers have found a way to keep things fresh and
interesting. Although the shows started out including much of the material from
Romano's stage act, that soon went by the wayside, and the episodes found their
own voice, as well as a winning blend of humor that producer Philip Rosenthal
contributed to heavily. There is a beautiful, hilarious scene in the pilot
episode that comes straight from his own experience, and is probably the
signature laugh-out-loud scene from the first season. Ray gives his parents
Fruit of the Month as a gift and is confronted by his mother, who doesn't
understand why she got so many pears. She can buy pears at the market! What,
there's going to be more fruit next month? What is this, a cult?! The
conversation escalates to include the father and becomes totally silly, yet
completely believable—who hasn't had this moment with their
parents, where some well-meant gesture is completely and utterly misunderstood?
This type of scene blends seamlessly with the more low-key touches such as the
father's wanting to smell the heads of the twins for the "fountain of
youth" effect their baby smell gives him (a real-life quirk of Romano's own
father).

The focus on family is often kooky, often touching. It's the family people
simultaneously wish they had and feel relieved that they don't have, all at
once. For all Debra's grousing about how often the parents and brother come
over, they are the first ones on the scene if someone is sick or in need of
help. Alternately, they are also the first ones on the scene if the shower
breaks or they run out of food. Even the formula humor never gets tired: It
doesn't matter how many times they do a scene where the family breezes through,
eating their food, throwing away "questionable" items (which are
actually fresh), dispensing advice about child rearing, waking their children up
from a sound sleep, and generally leaving a trail of destruction behind
them—it's always funny.

Also always-funny is the character of Raymond's brother. As Romano and
Rosenthal will point out in the commentary, the man just has to say one line to
get the audience laughing. It's the "Eeyore essence" of the guy, or
perhaps the hilarious way that he has to touch food to his chin before he eats
it. That deep, regretful voice and his hangdog looks of resentment toward
Raymond are priceless. Garrett, being a tall and powerfully built man, was
originally considered not quite the right fit for the role, since Raymond's
real-life brother is shorter and leaner. However, his hulking frame soon became
an advantage, since he could lord his physical superiority over Raymond and
neatly avoid the trap of being a truly pathetic character. At one point, he and
Ray are grappling over an item, doing the hand-over-hand playground trick
("If I grab the top, it's mine!"). But when Ray grabs the top, Robert
looks at him for a beat, then just pulls the object toward him, sliding the
fully grown Raymond across the floor as if he were no heavier than a pillow. BIG
laughs.

This DVD set was my first introduction to Everybody Loves Raymond,
and I could kick myself for avoiding the show all this time. I figured it would
be the same old same old—even the presence of the lovely and reliably
excellent Doris Roberts could not entice me. I am delighted to be wrong.

This is one of the better boxed sets I have seen for a TV show. The
packaging is sturdy and folds out attractively, with a laminated surface and
plenty of cast pictures. The clear plastic disc holders inside hold the DVDs
firmly but accessibly. As far as extras, the entire Late Night with David
Letterman segment that originally got Romano recognized and that served as
the springboard for the show is included. Here fans will see the seeds for some
of the early humor of the show. Also excellent are the three featurettes, which
chronicle the early days of getting the show together, casting the family
members, and getting it on the air. Not surprisingly, the network didn't know
quite what to make of the show, and was nervous about trusting the lead role to
someone who had never acted before. It's an interesting peek behind the scenes
that may be partially a review for devoted fans (especially when Romano talks
about not liking the title name) but otherwise provides an excellent
retrospective of what it took to get the series off the ground. The
scene-specific commentaries for the pilot and for the final episode of the
season are gold—producer Rosenthal and creator Romano talk about their
inspiration for the humor of the series, the way both the jokes and the
characters evolved, and how they feel about the way Season One ended. It's
especially interesting to hear all the tricks they used to disguise the very
pregnant Patricia Heaton, who used no padding in the final episode where she is
shown (in flashback) with an enormous belly as she and Raymond are shopping for
a new home now that they are expecting twins.

Video and sound quality for the episode transfers is excellent. The colors
are bright and crisp, and the picture is clear and defect-free. Sound quality is
robust and clear, suffering only slightly by the sometimes too-high mix of
audience laughter. Otherwise, sound is even and balanced, requiring very few (if
any) adjustments with the volume control during louder scenes.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Really, there's not much to complain about here. There's not even an
easy-to-lose paper insert with episode titles; they're printed right on the
box.

Closing Statement

In one episode, Debra tells Ray that he never says "I love you." He
says that he does, and all the time. "When?" she demands. "With
my eeeeeyyyyyyes!" he insists, making married women everywhere either do
that funny little groaning laugh that only married women can do (everyone else
just laughs the regular way). This, and the scene later on where Debra laughs at
him when he does manage to say it, is the essence of Everybody Loves
Raymond, a fine show that deserves all the attention it can get.

The Verdict

The long-suffering Raymond and Debra are free to go, with the court's
blessing.

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